


Coming Home

by fanofbooks_49



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, Established Relationship, F/M, Found Family, Going Home for the First Time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:34:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27727537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanofbooks_49/pseuds/fanofbooks_49
Summary: Cassian returns to Fest for the first time since the war ended.
Relationships: Cassian Andor/Jyn Erso
Comments: 12
Kudos: 54





	Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GofyTomcat1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GofyTomcat1/gifts).



> This one shot is for my friend GofyTomcat1, who gave me the one word prompt, "street," which inspired this story. I hope you enjoy it, and have a Happy Birthday!

The street was empty of people. But it was not abandoned as indicated by the grayish slush on the ground that could only be a result of people having walked through it so many times. With his face tucked into his blue parka, Cassian eyed it and couldn’t help the slight upturn of his lips. _This was snow._

The crystal like snow on Hoth had, without a doubt, been beautiful. And the sight of snow, something he hadn’t seen in twenty years, had been a welcome sight. But Hoth snow was just different. It wasn’t the kind of snow he had fumbled through in order to catch up with his sisters and brother as they played.

He could hear Jyn’s teeth chattering as she walked beside him and glanced at her. Like him, she wore the hood of her parka up, but unlike him, the majority of her face was covered by her scarf so all he could see of her face were her green eyes. He felt laughter bubble up within himself at the endearing sight. Jyn still hated the cold despite having lived on Hoth for three years. But he couldn’t blame her, really. Even Cassian, who had grown up on a cold planet, hated the relentless chill on Hoth; the biting air always lingering in his bones.

The irony that he was the reason for her being on a cold planet again, was not lost on him. But it meant the world to him that she would willingly come here with him. He didn’t even have to ask her; she offered. Jyn understood just how difficult it was to come back to Fest.

It had been over two decades since he had been on his home planet. And It was unnerving. He had always assumed that he would never come back because he always believed that he wouldn’t survive the war. That his body would be found in a back alley or in an Imperial prison. He had assumed the worst. But he had been wrong. He hadn’t died.

He lived.

And what was more baffling was that he wasn’t alone.

It was no longer just he and K-2SO fighting side by side. After Scarif, he found himself surrounded by a whole team; a family. And while Cassian found himself truly happy for the first time since leaving Fest, he couldn’t help but feel the guilt haunting him every time he caught Chirrut and Baze holding hands or seeing Bodhi’s hands and face smeared with engine grease or every time he heard Jyn laugh...

“Hey, Cassian?”

Turning his head towards her, he hummed distractedly in acknowledgement of her question.

“You okay?”

Cassian eyed the slush again. He didn’t know how to respond. Thankfully, Jyn didn’t press him for an answer and they continued to walk in silence.  
Eventually, however, Cassian looked up to assess how much farther they needed to walk and when he did, he stopped in his tracks. When she heard him stop, Jyn immediately knew that something was wrong. First, she scanned the area for a possible threat but she saw none. _Of course there isn’t._ Cassian wouldn’t just stop in the line of danger. She turned around to ask Cassian why he stopped walking and what she saw surprised her. But in hindsight, she knew, it shouldn’t have.

Captain Cassian Andor, former Intelligence officer of the Rebel Alliance, stood paralyzed with what could only be described as anxiety. Neither of them spoke. Jyn watched him as he stared at the town square, his eyes furrowed. He looked distracted. Jyn walked up to him and entwined their gloved hands. Cassian blinked, looked down at their hands and then finally looked at her. She smiled softly at him; wordlessly encouraging him. He nodded his head slowly. Hand in hand, they continued walking down the empty street. .

The town square was a wide spacious area. In the center, stood a lamppost that provided a dim yellow light. But the layout of the area was etched into Cassian’s memory. He didn’t need a light to know what lay ahead. There was the Credit Exchange Office which was adjacent to the Archives Building. Across from the Archives Building was the Market and next to the Market was what was once a Headquarters for the Galactic Republic Officials who occupied his home planet during the Clone Wars. The third window on the second floor was no longer boarded up in a makeshift fix and Cassian remembered the pride he felt when the glass shattered as his rock impacted the window. He quickly turned his face away from the now properly fixed window and exhaled through his nose.

Still holding her hand, Cassian and Jyn walked past the old Headquarters. When they reached the end of the town square, Cassian turned left and Jyn followed suit, her grasp on his hand never wavering.

Teasingly, Cassian said, “Careful of the ice there.”

Jyn smirked, “What, you don’t want to go skating with me?”

Cassian replied, “You call it skating - I call it sliding uncontrollably.”

Jyn responded, “I told you, I meant to do that.”

Cassian playfully scoffed in disbelief. “You know, for someone who can take out a handful of stormtrooper’s, by herself, you really aren’t all that graceful.”

Jyn gasped in mock outrage, “You take that back!” But Cassian only smiled knowingly at her.

Under her breath, she muttered, “Jerk.”

This only widened his smile and he chuckled good naturedly. Seeing him finally at ease made her return his smile.

They walked in comfortable silence for half a mile. They passed several houses; all of which had a light source on indicating occupation. Cassian wondered if he knew anyone in one of the houses. It wasn’t unlikely. Not everyone had left Fest after all.

At the end of the street there was the only house that did not have a light on. Cassian and Jyn stopped walking and stood and stared. Neither said anything. They had arrived.

After many minutes of standing side by side one another, Cassian dropped his hand from Jyn’s grasp and slowly began walking towards the front door. Jyn stayed behind; torn from not wanting to leave his side but also knowing that this was a moment he might want to be alone. She felt useless.

As Cassian walked up the slight incline of the snowy pathway, he heard Myria’s laughter. He paused. _No. Don’t be stupid._ It was just the wind howling through the air. He continued his walk. Cassian felt Jyn’s gaze on his retreating form and this comforted him greatly.

But then the wind suddenly changed direction and Cassian turned his head to shield from the breeze. He saw Jafan wipe his grease covered hands on a rag with a proud smirk on his face that clearly declared, “See? I told you I could do it.” He stopped walking again as doubt began to fill his every thought. _I’m going crazy._ Cassian looked again to the front door of his childhood home.

He didn’t know how long he stood there when he felt Jyn’s hand on his shoulder. But it didn’t frighten him. It was familiar and comforting and hopeful. Cassian turned his head towards her to be greeted with her caring, loving, green eyes.

She promised, “It’s okay.”

He nodded his head and turned to face the house once more. He continued his walk up the pathway, Jyn following him. When he reached the door, he swore he could feel time slow down. He witnessed the clone trooper walk away from his mother, who had stood in the doorway, looking fearful at the envelope in her hands.

He turned the knob and heard the hinges of the door creak with life. It was a small house when he was a young boy, but now it seemed so much smaller. Jyn followed Cassian as they both walked through the corridors of his childhood home. Once, this house had been filled with his mother’s hand knit rug, chairs his father had built, and a dinner table that had once belonged to his grandparents. It was all gone. Now the house lay barren. As Cassian walked through his childhood home, memory after memory flashed before his eyes:

His father dancing with Elana as she stood on his shoes, giggling.  
Jafan yelling about the injustices committed by the Galactic Republic.  
Myria explaining to him the complicated math problem she had learned.  
His mother humming an old Festian lullaby.  
Elana lying in the middle of the hall, sketching in her notebook.  
His father kneeling down to be eye level with him and his siblings as he told them goodbye for the final time.

He felt himself kneel to the ground.

Jyn rushed to his side and hugged him. He buried his face into her neck, her mere presence calming him. She whispered over and over in his ear, “I’m here, Cassian.” He hadn’t even realized he had started crying.

Wiping his eyes, he said, “Force, I miss them.”

Jyn shook her head, “I know.”

He moved to look at her, “Thank you.”

She smiled softly at him, “You’re welcome,” she paused, “I love you.”

Cassian stroked her cheek with his thumb and responded, “I love you too.” They smiled at one another, content in the other’s presence.

Jyn helped him stand up and Cassian looked around his childhood home once more.

“Well, Jyn, what do you think?” Jyn slowly walked around for a moment, admiring the small rooms.

“At long last, you finally brought a girl home.” It was an unexpected answer - Cassian laughed.

Teasingly, he said, “And how do you know that my six year old self didn’t bring a girl from school home? I was a big flirt, you know.”

Jyn cocked her head to the side, surprised “Really?”

Cassian scrunched up his nose, caught in a fib, “Eh, no. Not really. That was... Jafan… actually.” He swallowed the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat.

Jyn walked up to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, “This is a lovely home.”

Cassian nodded his head, “Yeah. Yeah, it really was.”

And it had been. But for over twenty years, this hadn’t been his home.

“Thank you for being here, Jyn.”

“Of course. I’m with you. All the way, remember?” She placed her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her waist, kissing the top of her head.

“Yeah. All the way.”

When they left his childhood home, Cassian felt that the street wasn't as empty anymore.


End file.
